US Right-Wing Christians Look to Latin America for Next Culture War Battleground

The conservative leaders of U.S.-based, Evangelical organizations are setting their sights on Latin America in search of new opportunities to further their anti-LGBTQ agenda, according to Reuters. The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) and Conela have merged to become the largest network of evangelical churches and their attendant congregants.

"Because of what was happening in Latin America and what we are fighting here in America there needed to be a combination to be able to create a firewall for our Judeo-Christian values.” Explained Mat Staver, conservative lawyer and instrumental party in NHCLC/Conela’s merger. “That is what ultimately brought about this merger."

Led by Samuel Rodriguez, former executive director of NHCLC, NHCLC/Conela is quickly attempting to incorporate itself into the judicial systems of countries moving to recognize the rights of LGBTQ individuals. While countries like Argentina and Uruguay have legalized gay marriage in spite of opposition from groups backed by U.S. conservatives, NCHLC/Conela has seen success in blocking legislation that would legalize same sex marriage in Peru.

Following the formation of NHCLC/Conela, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) was quick to challenge its claims of representing all evangelical Christians in Latin America.

"[We have] been surprised to read in recent weeks of claims about evangelical networks seeking to represent evangelical Christians in Latin America and beyond," The organization said in a press release. "Following these claims, the WEA has been asked by the leaders of the 19 national Evangelical Alliances in Latin America to publicly contribute to clarification."

Currently the Latin Evangelical Alliance (Alianza Evangelica Latina. AEL) is group recognized as being the regional representation of evangelically-identified Christian in Latin America, the WEA explained. The AEL is composed of a coalition of 19 Evangelical Alliances and was formed in late November last year.

Listen to audio of Samuel Rodriguez explaining his goals concerning Latin-American families AFTER THE JUMP...

Oh, please. Why don't the evangelicals take their message to the ISIS soldiers in Iraq....or the Taliban in Afghanistan?

It's cloudy in Philly today, and we're not cheerful with Brotherly Love.

Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Aug 12, 2014 12:47:57 PM

They have spread their venomous hatred everywhere, those evangelicals. They use bribes and under-the-table payoffs to influence legislators in Latin America to vote against any recognition of LGBT rights.

They have already spread their poison in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, el Peru and Brasil. Evangelicals, in alliance with the Catholic Church, are primarily responsible for the delay in following the Colombian Supreme Court's order to pass legislation recognizing marriage equality. In the Dominican Republic, they have effectively blocked any hope for any pro-LGBT protections.

Evangelicals in Latin America have already been caught in any number of corruption scandals involving bribery and pay-offs to politicians, not to mention sexual abuse scandals, some of which involve not only child sexual abuse but outright rape of women congregants by craven evangelical church pastors.

Throughout Latin America, evangelicals have allied themselves politically with the Catholic Church even if it is an uneasy alliance since both must exist from the largesse of their congregants and compete for scarce congregational money.

But all share one primary, unifying goal: to spread as much hatred against LGBT people as they can and to make sure the social and civil equality never be realized in any Latin America country that might still be considering their gay citizens as equal to all others.

The U.S. government should stop ignoring the illegal actions of American evangelicals of whatever race who are using their political and monetary influence to interfere in the political processes of Latin America and Africa and start prosecuting.

Posted by: jamal49 | Aug 12, 2014 12:48:15 PM

...and STILL we have idiot gay people giving money to these hate groups disguised as religions.

Posted by: Icebloo | Aug 12, 2014 1:00:15 PM

If gays are going to be religious. they should be morally obligated to not support religions that spread hatred against other gay people.

There are several Christian churches that support human rights: the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Metropolitan Community Church, the Universalist Unitarian Church and the United Church of Christ. Give to them and not the others.

In addition, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Conservative Jewish congregations all support gay rights. Again, support these groups.

The gods were getting married. One after another, they all got hitched, until finally it was time for War to draw his lot, the last of the bachelors.

Hubris, or Reckless Pride, became his wife, since she was the only one left without a husband.

They say War loved Hubris with such abandon that he still follows her everywhere she goes.

So do not ever allow Hubris to come upon the nations or cities of mankind, smiling fondly at the crowds, because War will be coming right behind her.

Note: Hubris is a Greek word meaning reckless pride or insolence; as a feminine noun, hubris is, allegorically, a woman.

Posted by: I'm layla miller i know stuff | Aug 12, 2014 1:58:56 PM

The Paranoia Switch by Martha Stout (amazon.com)

These familiar history McCarthyism, the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans, and the rise of the Klu Klux Klan after the Civil War – are three American examples of what I have called “limbic wars.” Every limbic war can be divided into six stages.

These stages do not have distinct beginning or ends, but rather merge, almost imperceptibly, each into the next. The first phase always involves a traumatizing event, usually a war or an attack. The five subsequent stages are essential reaction to the fear instilled in people minds by the initial tragedy.

The second stage is the all-important one. If leaders willing to us the paranoia switch are not embraced by the people, a limbic war may not occur at all, and the unhappy unfolding of Stages 3 through 6 can be avoided. If they accept the fear brokers, the process continues into its third stage.

Ten Behavioral Characteristics of Fear Brokers
1. Fear brokers speak to us of fear, dangerous people and frightening situations
2. Fear brokers are not limited by facts; they use alarming “unfacts”
3. Fear brokers tend to accuse those who disagree with them of being unpatriotic or naïve
4. Feat brokers look good
5. Fear brokers behave like archetypal parents
6. Fear brokers shame us over sex
7. Fear brokers praise us for being moral and heroic, contradicting as it is
8. Fear brokers project personal infallibility
9. Fear brokers are secretive, and are certain that other people too, are keeping dangerous secrets
10. Fear brokers use language that pulls for primitive affect

Posted by: I'm layla miller i know stuff | Aug 12, 2014 2:00:11 PM

These so called 'religious groups' have totally inverted their own philosophy of Jesus' love to gain power and influence.

It will profit them nothing.......they have already lost their souls.

Posted by: JackFknTwist | Aug 12, 2014 2:50:56 PM

Maybe it's just my experience, but I find Latin Americans more sophisticated and literate than average Americans of the USA variety. So the evangelicals, who prey on the unsophisticated may have more trouble than they expect when going south.

The evangelicals also prey on the poor. So they may find fertile ground with the usual "helping hand" approach in return for accepting their bs.

Maybe Africa has become too dangerous, healthwise, for them?

Posted by: james street james | Aug 12, 2014 3:24:39 PM

We must fight them at every turn. However, the best revenge is to just sit back and enjoy watching them lead their pathetic lives. I would *not* want to be them. Imagine having your life dominated by a bizarre, unending compulsion to attack gays. JACKFKNTWIST is absolutely right when he says that they have already lost their souls. Indeed.

Posted by: Chris L. | Aug 12, 2014 3:26:08 PM

These are exactly the kind of Christians who need to be persecuted.

Posted by: Steve | Aug 12, 2014 3:32:47 PM

These are not "christians," they are political reactionaries using religion as cover. Wolves, indeed, in sheep's clothing. They have earned the title of "christian taliban," though they insult the essence of Jesus' teachings.

Posted by: Chuck Mielke | Aug 12, 2014 3:41:08 PM

Christianity is a social disease. Let's kill it, and quarantine the infected bigots,

Posted by: FlexSF | Aug 12, 2014 3:48:27 PM

@Derrick from Philly : ISIS is also known as ISIL. Let's use ISIL, mainly because Isis is an ancient Egyptian deity associated with love, but really because of the references to Isis in The Magic Flute. While listening to Mozart's sublime music, one does not want to be have images of a group of thugs conjured up due to the repetition of an acronym in the press.

Posted by: Bill | Aug 12, 2014 6:30:12 PM

This has been going on for DECADES, nothing new. Brazil, the world's largest 'Catholic' nation by population is now down to I believe 68% Catholic, the remainder mainly evangelical Christian churches. Evangelical and pentecostal churches are very, very popular throughout Latin America and have been growing for a long time.

Liberal Christian Churches survive only in western first world countries, and even then they are small in numbers compared to more evangelical Protestant churches, Catholics, and even Eastern Orthodox. There is no huge rush of people becoming Unitarian or even Anglican. The big growth is in evangelical churches.

Posted by: ratbastard | Aug 12, 2014 7:00:06 PM

gotta love those people they have made hate one of this country's biggest exports

Posted by: walter | Aug 12, 2014 7:07:05 PM

A move of desperation if there ever was one. Not that this has anything more than face value, but I can say with complete certainty that if I compare the blue collar whites, latinos and blacks I've met, the latinos are without a doubt the least homophobic of the three. (That doesn't mean there aren't anti-gay ones, of course) And besides, so what if they get some anti-gay adherents in Latin America? Those people would have just been anti-gay Catholics before...changing them to anti-gay evangelicals is a zero-sum move.